Bassil speaks in favor of direct election of the president

BEIRUT – Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil said in a speech Saturday that it was necessary "seriously to consider the direct vote by the people" to elect the President of the Republic, as opposed to the current system in which the Parliament selects the head of state.

Here's what we know:

    • "We are allowed to seriously consider the election of the President of the Republic directly by the people, in two rounds, in order to preserve the particularity and the symbolism of this position and its representativeness of the entire population," Bassil said. The remarks of the son-in-law of the current president, Michel Aoun, come amid the approach of the expiry of Aoun's presidential mandate, in October, and at a time when the leader of the FPM is believed to be eyeing the presidency.

    • Bassil made these remarks in a speech at a gathering devoted to the launch of a charter for a "civil Lebanon," in which he argued that his movement was making every effort to build a secular Lebanese state.

    • Responding to critics who have accused the Christian FPM party of sectarianism, Bassil said, "We were accused of the fact that in the sectarian system in place, we were strict in demanding the rights of Christians in the state. This is a fact that we do not deny, but we adhere to because we adhere to the national partnership, while others sought in the past to dissolve the partnership under the pretext of securing rights."

    • Bassil regularly criticizes the Taif agreement under which the civil war ended and the Constitution was modified. The Aounist camp believes that the post of Maronite president has been weakened in favor of that of Sunni Prime Minister as a result.

    • Bassil also listed a series of commitments that his party intends to make in Parliament, in order to advance the establishment of a secular state, including efforts to close the gaps in the Constitution, the passing of a unified civil status law to govern personal and family affairs, a law on administrative and financial decentralization, an electoral law based on proportional representation with an enlarged constituency, the creation of a Senate, and that of a fund for the management of State assets, with the participation of the private sector.

    • According to various analysts, the FPM risks accruing serious losses during the legislative elections of next May 15, which could cut short Bassil's chances of acceding to the presidency.